NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL suspended five players for violating the league’s gambling policy on Friday.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus and safety C.J. Moore and Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney were suspended indefinitely, while Lions wide receivers Stanley Berryhill and Jameson Williams were suspended six games.

Cephus, Moore and Toney are suspended indefinitely through at least the conclusion of the 2023 season for betting on NFL games in the 2022 season, and may petition for reinstatement at the conclusion of the 2023 season.

Berryhill and Williams were suspended for betting from an NFL facility on non-NFL games. They are eligible to participate in all offseason and preseason activities, including preseason games., and their suspensions will take effect at the final roster cutdown.

In a release, the NFL said that a “league review uncovered no evidence indicating any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way.”

The Lions released Cephus and Moore on Friday.

Detroit Lions executive vice president and general manager Brad Holmes said in a statement that the players “exhibited decision making that is not consistent with our organizational values and violates league rules.”

Holmes also said that the team will work with Stanley and Jameson "to ensure they understand the severity of these violations and have clarity on the league rules moving forward.”

The Commanders said in a statement that the team has “cooperated fully with the NFL’s investigation since receiving notice and support the league’s findings and actions."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1578051322956.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL suspended five players for violating the league’s gambling policy on Friday.Detroit Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus and safety C.J. Moore and Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney were suspended indefinitely, while Lions wide receivers Stanley Berryhill and Jameson Williams were suspended six games.Cephus, Moore and Toney are suspended indefinitely through at least the conclusion of the 2023 season for betting on NFL games in the 2022 season, and may petition for reinstatement at the conclusion of the 2023 season.Berryhill and Williams were suspended for betting from an NFL facility on non-NFL games. They are eligible to participate in all offseason and preseason activities, including preseason games., and their suspensions will take effect at the final roster cutdown.In a release, the NFL said that a “league review uncovered no evidence indicating any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way.”The Lions released Cephus and Moore on Friday.Detroit Lions executive vice president and general manager Brad Holmes said in a statement that the players “exhibited decision making that is not consistent with our organizational values and violates league rules.”Holmes also said that the team will work with Stanley and Jameson "to ensure they understand the severity of these violations and have clarity on the league rules moving forward.”The Commanders said in a statement that the team has “cooperated fully with the NFL’s investigation since receiving notice and support the league’s findings and actions."

NFL suspends 5 players for violating gambling policy

By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/04/20/nebraska-settles-lawsuit-involving-400-current-and-former-state-troopers/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — The State of Nebraska has 
settled a 12-year lawsuit involving more than 400 current and former 
State Troopers, agreeing to pay them a combined $18.75 million.

Attorney General Mike Hilgers and 
Gov. Jim Pillen announced the settlement Thursday with Gary Young, a 
lawyer representing the State Troopers Association of Nebraska.

The Troopers sued the state in 2011 
after the Legislature changed the contribution rates Troopers made to 
their pensions after signing contracts for lower contributions when 
hired.

Hilgers called the settlement 
“historic.” Pillen was “excited to get this lawsuit behind us … and move
 on.” Both said they wanted State Patrol Troopers to feel supported.

Investigator Dan Fiala, the president
 of the Troopers’ union who is based out of Grand Island, said the 
settlement is “a huge morale booster” for people who worried it might 
never end.

“It’s just a huge confidence booster 
for everybody,” Fiala said, adding that Troopers’ families needed that 
money. “This will let them get caught up. It will make living a little 
bit easier.”

According to the lawsuit, some of the
 Troopers who sued had signed contracts saying they would contribute as 
little as 8% of their pay toward their pensions and ended up paying as 
much as 19%.

Today, most Troopers contribute 16% of their pay toward pensions. New hires to pay 17%.

The lawsuit covers 28 years of payroll, back to 1995.

Hilgers, the state’s top prosecutor, 
said the case was ready to head to trial. That, he said, could have 
taken another three years and risked costing taxpayers more in the end.

“This is a very good result for the 
State of Nebraska,” Hilgers said. “This takes away the cloud of 
uncertainty for both sides and gives us the opportunity to close the 
chapter and unify.”

The typical civil case lasts a year 
or two, he said. This one started under former Gov. Dave Heineman and 
stretched through both of former Gov. Pete Ricketts’ terms.&nbsp;

Several of the litigants have since 
died, Hilgers and Young said, and one of the judges involved in the case
 has retired. Young and Hilgers credited Pillen for changing the tone.

Hilgers said Pillen was receptive to 
settlement negotiations. After Pillen took office in January, he 
negotiated a 22% raise for Troopers, whose pay had trailed that of 
competitors.&nbsp;

Pillen said he was “proud” to support
 law enforcement. He said people who put their lives on the line for 
others know to watch what people do, not what they say.

“We Nebraskans don’t say thank you 
enough for what you and your team do to put yourselves in harm’s way,” 
he said. “Twelve years — for crying out loud, it’s time.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682086647868.png" alt="New headquarters of the Nebraska State Patrol. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>New headquarters of the Nebraska State Patrol. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/04/20/nebraska-settles-lawsuit-involving-400-current-and-former-state-troopers/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — The State of Nebraska has 
settled a 12-year lawsuit involving more than 400 current and former 
State Troopers, agreeing to pay them a combined $18.75 million.Attorney General Mike Hilgers and 
Gov. Jim Pillen announced the settlement Thursday with Gary Young, a 
lawyer representing the State Troopers Association of Nebraska.The Troopers sued the state in 2011 
after the Legislature changed the contribution rates Troopers made to 
their pensions after signing contracts for lower contributions when 
hired.Hilgers called the settlement 
“historic.” Pillen was “excited to get this lawsuit behind us … and move
 on.” Both said they wanted State Patrol Troopers to feel supported.Investigator Dan Fiala, the president
 of the Troopers’ union who is based out of Grand Island, said the 
settlement is “a huge morale booster” for people who worried it might 
never end.“It’s just a huge confidence booster 
for everybody,” Fiala said, adding that Troopers’ families needed that 
money. “This will let them get caught up. It will make living a little 
bit easier.”According to the lawsuit, some of the
 Troopers who sued had signed contracts saying they would contribute as 
little as 8% of their pay toward their pensions and ended up paying as 
much as 19%.Today, most Troopers contribute 16% of their pay toward pensions. New hires to pay 17%.The lawsuit covers 28 years of payroll, back to 1995.Hilgers, the state’s top prosecutor, 
said the case was ready to head to trial. That, he said, could have 
taken another three years and risked costing taxpayers more in the end.“This is a very good result for the 
State of Nebraska,” Hilgers said. “This takes away the cloud of 
uncertainty for both sides and gives us the opportunity to close the 
chapter and unify.”The typical civil case lasts a year 
or two, he said. This one started under former Gov. Dave Heineman and 
stretched through both of former Gov. Pete Ricketts’ terms.&nbsp;Several of the litigants have since 
died, Hilgers and Young said, and one of the judges involved in the case
 has retired. Young and Hilgers credited Pillen for changing the tone.Hilgers said Pillen was receptive to 
settlement negotiations. After Pillen took office in January, he 
negotiated a 22% raise for Troopers, whose pay had trailed that of 
competitors.&nbsp;Pillen said he was “proud” to support
 law enforcement. He said people who put their lives on the line for 
others know to watch what people do, not what they say.“We Nebraskans don’t say thank you 
enough for what you and your team do to put yourselves in harm’s way,” 
he said. “Twelve years — for crying out loud, it’s time.”

Nebraska settles lawsuit involving 400 current, former state troopers

By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/04/20/senators-open-debate-on-bill-seeking-greater-use-of-corn-based-ethanol/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — An effort to increase use of higher blends of corn-based ethanol ran into an unusual group of opponents Thursday.

State Sens. Megan Hunt of Omaha and Jane Raybould of Lincoln — two of
 the more liberal senators in the Nebraska Legislature — joined with the
 conservative Americans for Prosperity in arguing that mandating what 
kind of gas pumps businesses should provide was government overreach.

“Government should not tell businesses what to sell,” said Hunt. “The
 ethanol industry can stand on its own without a government mandate.”

Raybould, whose family owns a chain of supermarkets that include gas 
pumps, said forcing retailers to have higher blend E-15 pumps was 
wrong-headed.

“Why are we making the taxpayers subsidize the ethanol 
industry?” Raybould asked. “Why doesn’t the (Nebraska) corn board or 
ethanol board have skin in this game?”

The comments came as the Unicameral opened debate on Legislative Bill 562, the priority bill of Adams Sen. Myron Dorn, a farmer.

It touched on one of the state’s largest industries, but one facing 
some headwinds given the growing switch to electric vehicles. In 
response, Nebraska’s <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/30/fischers-year-round-15-plus-ethanol-bill-has-oil-backing/">federal delegation has also been pushing legislation</a> to increase use of ethanol.

Nebraska is the second largest producer of ethanol in the country, 
and farmers who live in the vicinity of the state’s 24 ethanol plants 
get an estimated 21 cents a bushel more for their corn.

That boosts profits for farmers in what is a $10 billion industry and
 provides a valuable byproduct, cattle feed, for livestock producers. 
Advocates said ethanol plants also provide good-paying jobs in rural 
areas across the state.

Glenvil Sen. Dave Murman noted that Nebraska is an agricultural 
state. An estimated 40% of the state’s corn crop goes to ethanol plants.

“We need to support our own economy. And this is a bill that will do that,” Murman said.

Dorn said the goal of LB 562 was to increase use of ethanol. 
Currently, he said, just under 10% of the fuel sold in Nebraska is 
ethanol, and the bill aims to increase that to 14% by 2027.

Beginning Jan. 1, any new gasoline outlet, or any outlet replacing 
more than 80% of its pumps, would be required to have 50% of its pumps 
provide E-15, a blend that contains 15% ethanol.

Tax credits, capped at $5 million a year statewide, would be provided
 to retailers who provide E-15 pumps. The credit would start at 8 cents 
per gallon sold, a boost over a 5 cents a gallon credit approved last 
year.

Under a <a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/AM/AM1248.pdf">proposed amendment</a>
 to LB 562, smaller gas retailers, or those facing expensive replacement
 of pumps and storage tanks, could be exempted from the mandate.

But if the state’s ethanol use doesn’t grow to at least 14% of all 
fuel by 2027, then every retailer in the state would be required to have
 at least one E-15 pump.

Americans for Prosperity opposed the bill because it dictated what 
businesses should do. Proponents of the measure argued that it wasn’t a 
mandate because it only increased “access” to the higher blend fuel.

Dorn said that when E-15 pumps are provided, consumers rapidly switch
 to it from the E-10 that stations commonly carry. About 10% of the 
state’s gas stations and convenience stores now offer E-15, he said.

Dorn estimated that the bill would increase statewide ethanol 
production by 40 million gallons, or about 5%, and, because E-15 
averages about 17 cents a gallon cheaper, consumers could save up to $52
 million.

Raybould said that shoppers at her family’s supermarkets aren’t 
asking for E-15 and that retailers are in the business of providing what
 customers want.

Since gas pumps typically offer only three dispensers, she said 
retailers would be looking at replacing the highest selling option, 
E-10, or undertaking an expensive replacement of pumps. Some storage 
tanks, Raybould added, can’t hold the more corrosive E-15.

Hunt also raised concerns about whether ethanol had a long-term future, given the push to switch to electric vehicles.

“This is another handout to ag producers,” the senator said, questioning whether ethanol was becoming “an obsolete industry.”

She filed an amendment to the bill to provide $150,000 to the 
University of Nebraska to study the short- and long-term prospects for 
ethanol, as well as the impact on the environment and water resources in
 growing corn.

Hastings Sen. Steve Halloran complained that there was too much 
“gnashing of teeth” over LB 562 and that retailers could easily and 
inexpensively comply with the bill by switching pumps from E-10 to E-15.

Lawmakers adjourned for a four-day weekend before getting to a vote 
on Hunt’s amendment. But senators did reject her motion to kill LB 562 
on a 38-1 vote.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682086433463.png" alt="An estimated 40% of Nebraska’s corn is sold to ethanol plants. This corn field, pictured last summer, was in Saunders County, Nebraska, just outside of Ashland. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) " />
 <figcaption>An estimated 40% of Nebraska’s corn is sold to ethanol plants. This corn field, pictured last summer, was in Saunders County, Nebraska, just outside of Ashland. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) </figcaption>
 </figure>By PAUL HAMMEL <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/04/20/senators-open-debate-on-bill-seeking-greater-use-of-corn-based-ethanol/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — An effort to increase use of higher blends of corn-based ethanol ran into an unusual group of opponents Thursday.State Sens. Megan Hunt of Omaha and Jane Raybould of Lincoln — two of
 the more liberal senators in the Nebraska Legislature — joined with the
 conservative Americans for Prosperity in arguing that mandating what 
kind of gas pumps businesses should provide was government overreach.“Government should not tell businesses what to sell,” said Hunt. “The
 ethanol industry can stand on its own without a government mandate.”Raybould, whose family owns a chain of supermarkets that include gas 
pumps, said forcing retailers to have higher blend E-15 pumps was 
wrong-headed.<h2>‘Why subsidize ethanol?’</h2>“Why are we making the taxpayers subsidize the ethanol 
industry?” Raybould asked. “Why doesn’t the (Nebraska) corn board or 
ethanol board have skin in this game?”The comments came as the Unicameral opened debate on Legislative Bill 562, the priority bill of Adams Sen. Myron Dorn, a farmer.It touched on one of the state’s largest industries, but one facing 
some headwinds given the growing switch to electric vehicles. In 
response, Nebraska’s <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2022/11/30/fischers-year-round-15-plus-ethanol-bill-has-oil-backing/">federal delegation has also been pushing legislation</a> to increase use of ethanol.Nebraska is the second largest producer of ethanol in the country, 
and farmers who live in the vicinity of the state’s 24 ethanol plants 
get an estimated 21 cents a bushel more for their corn.<h2>Supports local economy</h2>That boosts profits for farmers in what is a $10 billion industry and
 provides a valuable byproduct, cattle feed, for livestock producers. 
Advocates said ethanol plants also provide good-paying jobs in rural 
areas across the state.Glenvil Sen. Dave Murman noted that Nebraska is an agricultural 
state. An estimated 40% of the state’s corn crop goes to ethanol plants.“We need to support our own economy. And this is a bill that will do that,” Murman said.Dorn said the goal of LB 562 was to increase use of ethanol. 
Currently, he said, just under 10% of the fuel sold in Nebraska is 
ethanol, and the bill aims to increase that to 14% by 2027.<h2>50% of pumps must provide E-15</h2>Beginning Jan. 1, any new gasoline outlet, or any outlet replacing 
more than 80% of its pumps, would be required to have 50% of its pumps 
provide E-15, a blend that contains 15% ethanol.Tax credits, capped at $5 million a year statewide, would be provided
 to retailers who provide E-15 pumps. The credit would start at 8 cents 
per gallon sold, a boost over a 5 cents a gallon credit approved last 
year.Under a <a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/AM/AM1248.pdf">proposed amendment</a>
 to LB 562, smaller gas retailers, or those facing expensive replacement
 of pumps and storage tanks, could be exempted from the mandate.But if the state’s ethanol use doesn’t grow to at least 14% of all 
fuel by 2027, then every retailer in the state would be required to have
 at least one E-15 pump.Americans for Prosperity opposed the bill because it dictated what 
businesses should do. Proponents of the measure argued that it wasn’t a 
mandate because it only increased “access” to the higher blend fuel.Dorn said that when E-15 pumps are provided, consumers rapidly switch
 to it from the E-10 that stations commonly carry. About 10% of the 
state’s gas stations and convenience stores now offer E-15, he said.Dorn estimated that the bill would increase statewide ethanol 
production by 40 million gallons, or about 5%, and, because E-15 
averages about 17 cents a gallon cheaper, consumers could save up to $52
 million.<h2>Would need to replace E-10 with E-15</h2>Raybould said that shoppers at her family’s supermarkets aren’t 
asking for E-15 and that retailers are in the business of providing what
 customers want.Since gas pumps typically offer only three dispensers, she said 
retailers would be looking at replacing the highest selling option, 
E-10, or undertaking an expensive replacement of pumps. Some storage 
tanks, Raybould added, can’t hold the more corrosive E-15.Hunt also raised concerns about whether ethanol had a long-term future, given the push to switch to electric vehicles.“This is another handout to ag producers,” the senator said, questioning whether ethanol was becoming “an obsolete industry.”She filed an amendment to the bill to provide $150,000 to the 
University of Nebraska to study the short- and long-term prospects for 
ethanol, as well as the impact on the environment and water resources in
 growing corn.Hastings Sen. Steve Halloran complained that there was too much 
“gnashing of teeth” over LB 562 and that retailers could easily and 
inexpensively comply with the bill by switching pumps from E-10 to E-15.Lawmakers adjourned for a four-day weekend before getting to a vote 
on Hunt’s amendment. But senators did reject her motion to kill LB 562 
on a 38-1 vote.

Neb. senators open debate on bill seeking greater use of ethanol

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is facing a self-imposed Friday night deadline to decide whether women's access to a widely used&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-medication-abortion-works-f913375ec6f8ebcb1f1055e57a3aef63">abortion pill</a>&nbsp;will stay unchanged or be restricted while a legal challenge to its Food and Drug Administration approval goes on.

The justices are weighing arguments that allowing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pill-appeal-fe13d36218f1fb43590aff29b5ba4e9c">restrictions</a>&nbsp;contained in lower-court rulings to take effect would severely disrupt the availability of the drug, mifepristone, which is used in the most common abortion method in the United States.

It has repeatedly been found to be safe and effective, and has been used by more than 5 million women in the U.S. since the FDA approved it in 2000.

The Supreme Court had initially said it would decide by Wednesday whether the restrictions could take effect while the case continues. A one-sentence order signed by Justice Samuel Alito on Wednesday gave the justices two additional days, without explanation.

The justices are scheduled to meet for a private conference Friday, where they could talk about the issue. The additional time could be part of an effort to craft an order that has broad support among the justices. Or one or more justices might be writing a separate opinion, and asked for a couple of extra days.

The challenge to mifepristone, brought by abortion foes, is the first&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;controversy to reach the nation's highest court since its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;10 months ago and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.

In his majority opinion, Alito said one reason for overturning Roe was to remove federal courts from the abortion fight. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” he wrote.

But even with their court victory,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-mifepristone-abortion-drug-3855bb5d5c791e4c0465958bae94519e">abortion opponents</a>&nbsp;returned to federal court with a new target: medication abortions, which make up more than half of all abortions in the United States.

Women seeking to end their pregnancies in the first 10 weeks without more invasive surgical abortion can take mifepristone, along with misoprostol. The FDA has eased the terms of mifepristone's use over the years, including allowing it to be sent through the mail in states that allow access.

The abortion opponents filed suit in Texas in November, asserting that FDA's original approval of mifepristone 23 years ago and subsequent changes were flawed.

They won a ruling on April 7 by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-judge-matthew-kacsmaryk-abortion-pill-fda-75964b777ef09593a1ad948c6cfc0237">U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk</a>, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, revoking FDA approval of mifepristone. The judge gave the Biden administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories, mifepristone's maker, a week to appeal and seek to keep his ruling on hold.

Responding to a quick appeal, two more Trump appointees on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23774813-5th-circuit-abortion-pill-stay-order">the FDA's original approval would stand for now</a>. But Judges Andrew Oldham and Kurt Englehardt said most of the rest of Kacsmaryk's ruling could take effect while the case winds through federal courts.

Their ruling would effectively nullify changes made by the FDA starting in 2016, including extending from seven to 10 weeks of pregnancy when mifepristone can be safely used. The court also said that the drug can’t be mailed or dispensed as a generic and that patients who seek it need to make three in-person visits with a doctor. Women also might be required to take a higher dosage of the drug than the FDA says is necessary.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-pill-mifepristone-ff152a443d8439e8fa5d9376070822b2">The administration and Danco</a>&nbsp;have said that chaos will result if those restrictions take effect while the case proceeds. Potentially adding to the confusion, a federal judge in Washington has ordered the FDA to preserve access to mifepristone under the current rules in 17 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia that filed a separate lawsuit.

The Biden administration has said the rulings conflict and create an untenable situation for the FDA.

And a new legal wrinkle threatens even more complications. GenBioPro, which makes the generic version of mifepristone, filed a lawsuit Wednesday to preemptively block the FDA from removing its drug from the market, in the event that the Supreme Court doesn’t intervene.

For now, the Supreme Court is only being asked to block the lower-court rulings through the end of the legal case. But the administration and Danco have a fallback argument if the court doesn't agree. They are asking the court to take up the challenge to mifepristone, hear arguments and decide the case by early summer.

The court only rarely takes such a step before at least one appeals court has thoroughly examined the legal issues involved.

The New Orleans-based 5th circuit already has ordered an accelerated schedule for hearing the case, with arguments set for May 17.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680967457500.png" alt="About 60% of abortions in Kansas involve the abortion pill. photo Associated Press" />
 <figcaption>About 60% of abortions in Kansas involve the abortion pill. photo Associated Press</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is facing a self-imposed Friday night deadline to decide whether women's access to a widely used&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-medication-abortion-works-f913375ec6f8ebcb1f1055e57a3aef63">abortion pill</a>&nbsp;will stay unchanged or be restricted while a legal challenge to its Food and Drug Administration approval goes on.The justices are weighing arguments that allowing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pill-appeal-fe13d36218f1fb43590aff29b5ba4e9c">restrictions</a>&nbsp;contained in lower-court rulings to take effect would severely disrupt the availability of the drug, mifepristone, which is used in the most common abortion method in the United States.It has repeatedly been found to be safe and effective, and has been used by more than 5 million women in the U.S. since the FDA approved it in 2000.The Supreme Court had initially said it would decide by Wednesday whether the restrictions could take effect while the case continues. A one-sentence order signed by Justice Samuel Alito on Wednesday gave the justices two additional days, without explanation.The justices are scheduled to meet for a private conference Friday, where they could talk about the issue. The additional time could be part of an effort to craft an order that has broad support among the justices. Or one or more justices might be writing a separate opinion, and asked for a couple of extra days.The challenge to mifepristone, brought by abortion foes, is the first&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;controversy to reach the nation's highest court since its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;10 months ago and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.In his majority opinion, Alito said one reason for overturning Roe was to remove federal courts from the abortion fight. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” he wrote.But even with their court victory,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-mifepristone-abortion-drug-3855bb5d5c791e4c0465958bae94519e">abortion opponents</a>&nbsp;returned to federal court with a new target: medication abortions, which make up more than half of all abortions in the United States.Women seeking to end their pregnancies in the first 10 weeks without more invasive surgical abortion can take mifepristone, along with misoprostol. The FDA has eased the terms of mifepristone's use over the years, including allowing it to be sent through the mail in states that allow access.The abortion opponents filed suit in Texas in November, asserting that FDA's original approval of mifepristone 23 years ago and subsequent changes were flawed.They won a ruling on April 7 by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-judge-matthew-kacsmaryk-abortion-pill-fda-75964b777ef09593a1ad948c6cfc0237">U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk</a>, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, revoking FDA approval of mifepristone. The judge gave the Biden administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories, mifepristone's maker, a week to appeal and seek to keep his ruling on hold.Responding to a quick appeal, two more Trump appointees on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23774813-5th-circuit-abortion-pill-stay-order">the FDA's original approval would stand for now</a>. But Judges Andrew Oldham and Kurt Englehardt said most of the rest of Kacsmaryk's ruling could take effect while the case winds through federal courts.Their ruling would effectively nullify changes made by the FDA starting in 2016, including extending from seven to 10 weeks of pregnancy when mifepristone can be safely used. The court also said that the drug can’t be mailed or dispensed as a generic and that patients who seek it need to make three in-person visits with a doctor. Women also might be required to take a higher dosage of the drug than the FDA says is necessary.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-pill-mifepristone-ff152a443d8439e8fa5d9376070822b2">The administration and Danco</a>&nbsp;have said that chaos will result if those restrictions take effect while the case proceeds. Potentially adding to the confusion, a federal judge in Washington has ordered the FDA to preserve access to mifepristone under the current rules in 17 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia that filed a separate lawsuit.The Biden administration has said the rulings conflict and create an untenable situation for the FDA.And a new legal wrinkle threatens even more complications. GenBioPro, which makes the generic version of mifepristone, filed a lawsuit Wednesday to preemptively block the FDA from removing its drug from the market, in the event that the Supreme Court doesn’t intervene.For now, the Supreme Court is only being asked to block the lower-court rulings through the end of the legal case. But the administration and Danco have a fallback argument if the court doesn't agree. They are asking the court to take up the challenge to mifepristone, hear arguments and decide the case by early summer.The court only rarely takes such a step before at least one appeals court has thoroughly examined the legal issues involved.The New Orleans-based 5th circuit already has ordered an accelerated schedule for hearing the case, with arguments set for May 17.

Abortion access and health care in America on the line Friday

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will formally announce his 2024 reelection campaign as soon as next week, three people briefed on the discussions said Thursday.

The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said they were not aware that a final decision on timing had been made, but that Biden had been eyeing Tuesday, April 25,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-pa-state-wire-joe-biden-ap-top-news-donald-trump-d5c415b99a6945dbbecf60d57bcf68cb">four years to the day since the Democrat entered the 2020 race</a>. The upcoming announcement is expected to be in the form of a video released to supporters.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-2024-presidential-reelection-campaign-announcement-trump-e64cd5649d9486291715388db3e8e386">Biden, 80, has repeatedly said he intends to run</a>&nbsp;for a second term but advisers say he has felt little need to jump into campaigning because he faces no significant opposition to his party’s nomination.

It’ll be a markedly different experience from four years ago, as when Biden was written off by much of the political establishment until he consolidated support as the candidate Democrats believed was best positioned to defeat then-President Donald Trump while the coronavirus pandemic raged. This time around, he will have to juggle the challenge of running for reelection while also running the country.

Biden in recent months has been focused on implementing the massive infrastructure, technology investment and climate laws passed during his first two years in office and drawing a sharp contrast with Republicans as Washington gears up for a fight over raising the nation’s borrowing limit. Aides believe those priorities will burnish his image ahead of his reelection campaign.

The president, already the oldest person ever elected the job, will also need to contend with voter concerns about his fitness for the job. He has brushed aside those concerns, telling voters to “watch me,” and aides say he plans to mount a robust campaign ahead of what they expect to be a close general election owing to the country’s polarization, no matter who emerges as the GOP standard-bearer.

Biden has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donors-democrats-election-2024-133f053e66c361e147921cc49372b251">summoned top Democratic donors</a>&nbsp;to Washington next week for what was expected to be a dinner with him and a strategy session with his chief political advisers.

The Washington Post first reported on the expected timing of the announcement.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681082649192.png" alt="The president, already the oldest person ever elected to the job, will also need to contend with voter concerns about his fitness for the job. White House photo" />
 <figcaption>The president, already the oldest person ever elected to the job, will also need to contend with voter concerns about his fitness for the job. White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will formally announce his 2024 reelection campaign as soon as next week, three people briefed on the discussions said Thursday.The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said they were not aware that a final decision on timing had been made, but that Biden had been eyeing Tuesday, April 25,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-pa-state-wire-joe-biden-ap-top-news-donald-trump-d5c415b99a6945dbbecf60d57bcf68cb">four years to the day since the Democrat entered the 2020 race</a>. The upcoming announcement is expected to be in the form of a video released to supporters.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-2024-presidential-reelection-campaign-announcement-trump-e64cd5649d9486291715388db3e8e386">Biden, 80, has repeatedly said he intends to run</a>&nbsp;for a second term but advisers say he has felt little need to jump into campaigning because he faces no significant opposition to his party’s nomination.It’ll be a markedly different experience from four years ago, as when Biden was written off by much of the political establishment until he consolidated support as the candidate Democrats believed was best positioned to defeat then-President Donald Trump while the coronavirus pandemic raged. This time around, he will have to juggle the challenge of running for reelection while also running the country.Biden in recent months has been focused on implementing the massive infrastructure, technology investment and climate laws passed during his first two years in office and drawing a sharp contrast with Republicans as Washington gears up for a fight over raising the nation’s borrowing limit. Aides believe those priorities will burnish his image ahead of his reelection campaign.The president, already the oldest person ever elected the job, will also need to contend with voter concerns about his fitness for the job. He has brushed aside those concerns, telling voters to “watch me,” and aides say he plans to mount a robust campaign ahead of what they expect to be a close general election owing to the country’s polarization, no matter who emerges as the GOP standard-bearer.Biden has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donors-democrats-election-2024-133f053e66c361e147921cc49372b251">summoned top Democratic donors</a>&nbsp;to Washington next week for what was expected to be a dinner with him and a strategy session with his chief political advisers.The Washington Post first reported on the expected timing of the announcement.

Biden 2024 re-election announcement coming next week

By CINDY GONZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/event-marks-30-years-since-murder-of-young-transgender-man-brandon-teena-in-nebraska/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — It’s been 30 years since 
the murder of Brandon Teena, a 21-year-old transgender man and Lincoln 
native, in rural Falls City, Nebraska.

Marking the anniversary of the 
tragedy, the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska and OutNebraska 
teamed up to host a free screening of the documentary, “The Brandon 
Teena Story,” on May 1 at Lincoln’s Ross Media Arts Center.&nbsp;

The 7 p.m. event starts with a panel 
discussion featuring documentary filmmakers Susan Muska and Greta 
Olafsdottir, State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln and transgender speaker
 and author Ryan Sallans.

Organizers have invited all 49 Nebraska state senators to attend, according to an ACLU media statement.

The conversation is to cover 
Brandon’s life, progress in trans rights and visibility since 1993 and 
challenges impacting rights of trans people today, including current 
measures in the Nebraska Legislature.

The 1998 documentary to be shown features interviews with people involved in the case and footage of the Falls City scene.&nbsp;

The story of Brandon’s rape and subsequent murder was dramatized in a movie that was released a year after the documentary.

Tickets are required and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aclunebraska.org/en/events/brandon-teena-story-community-conversation-screening">can be obtained online</a>.&nbsp;

The ACLU said the documentary is not 
rated. It includes discussion of murder, sexual violence and other 
difficult topics. Viewer discretion is advised.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682018090396.png" alt="“The Brandon Teena Story” is to be aired May 1 at free event in Lincoln, preceded by a panel discussion including a Nebraska state senator and the documentary filmmakers. (Courtesy of filmmakers Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir)" />
 <figcaption>“The Brandon Teena Story” is to be aired May 1 at free event in Lincoln, preceded by a panel discussion including a Nebraska state senator and the documentary filmmakers. (Courtesy of filmmakers Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir)</figcaption>
 </figure>By CINDY GONZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/event-marks-30-years-since-murder-of-young-transgender-man-brandon-teena-in-nebraska/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — It’s been 30 years since 
the murder of Brandon Teena, a 21-year-old transgender man and Lincoln 
native, in rural Falls City, Nebraska.Marking the anniversary of the 
tragedy, the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska and OutNebraska 
teamed up to host a free screening of the documentary, “The Brandon 
Teena Story,” on May 1 at Lincoln’s Ross Media Arts Center.&nbsp;The 7 p.m. event starts with a panel 
discussion featuring documentary filmmakers Susan Muska and Greta 
Olafsdottir, State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln and transgender speaker
 and author Ryan Sallans.Organizers have invited all 49 Nebraska state senators to attend, according to an ACLU media statement.The conversation is to cover 
Brandon’s life, progress in trans rights and visibility since 1993 and 
challenges impacting rights of trans people today, including current 
measures in the Nebraska Legislature.The 1998 documentary to be shown features interviews with people involved in the case and footage of the Falls City scene.&nbsp;The story of Brandon’s rape and subsequent murder was dramatized in a movie that was released a year after the documentary.Tickets are required and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aclunebraska.org/en/events/brandon-teena-story-community-conversation-screening">can be obtained online</a>.&nbsp;The ACLU said the documentary is not 
rated. It includes discussion of murder, sexual violence and other 
difficult topics. Viewer discretion is advised.

Event marks 30 years since murder of young transgender man in Neb.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;initially gave itself a deadline of Wednesday to decide whether women seeking access to a widely used abortion pill would face more restrictions while a court case plays out. But on the day of the highly anticipated decision the justices had only this to say:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-mifepristone-abortion-drug-8457b38f7a4799778e894da1858c8aa2">We need more time</a>.

In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/041923zr1_kjfm.pdf">one-sentence order,</a>&nbsp;the court said it now expects to act by Friday evening. There was no explanation of the reason for the delay.

The new abortion controversy comes less than a year after the Supreme Court's conservative majority&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.

The following is a look at the drug at issue in the new case, how the case got to the nation's highest court and what the delay might say about what's going on.

Mifepristone was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration more than two decades ago. It has been used by more than 5 million women to safely end their pregnancies, and today more than half of women who end a pregnancy rely on the drug, the Justice Department said.

Over the years, the FDA has loosened restrictions on the drug’s use, extending from seven to 10 weeks of pregnancy when it can be used, reducing the dosage needed to safely end a pregnancy, eliminating the requirement to visit a doctor in person to get it and allowing pills to be obtained by mail. The FDA also approved a generic version of mifepristone that its manufacturer, Las Vegas-based GenBioPro, says makes up two-thirds of the domestic market.

Mifepristone is one of two pills used in medication abortions, along with misoprostol. Health care providers have said they could switch to misoprostol only if mifepristone is no longer available or is too hard to obtain. Misoprostol is somewhat less effective in ending pregnancies.

A lawsuit over mifepristone was filed in Amarillo, Texas, late last year. Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group, represents the pill's opponents, who say the FDA's approval of mifepristone was flawed.

Why Amarillo?&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-judge-matthew-kacsmaryk-abortion-pill-fda-75964b777ef09593a1ad948c6cfc0237">U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk</a>, who was nominated by then-President Donald Trump, is the sole district court judge there, ensuring that all cases filed in the west Texas city land in front of him. Since taking the bench, he has ruled against President Joe Biden's administration on several other issues, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-joe-biden-new-orleans-mexico-statutes-0a3b7c93a6e6bdf06b0eee4935d7dc8f">immigration</a>&nbsp;and LGBTQ protections.

On April 7, Kacsmaryk issued a ruling that would&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pill-lawsuit-mifepristone-misoprostol-kacsmaryk-74cb1c4cfab2c04f6cf2696151bc86ef">revoke the FDA's approval of mifepristone</a>, but he put the decision on hold for a week to allow an appeal.

Complicating matters, however, on the same day Kacsmaryk issued his order, a court in Washington state issued a separate ruling in a lawsuit brought by liberal states seeking to preserve access to mifepristone. The Washington judge, Spokane-based Thomas O. Rice, whom then-President Barack Obama nominated, ordered the FDA not to do anything that might affect the availability of mifepristone in the suing states. The Biden administration has said it is impossible to follow both judges' directives at the same time.

HOW DID THE CASE GET TO THE SUPREME COURT?

The Biden administration responded to Kacsmaryk's ruling by asking the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pills-4b65ecc66d1b908019bdf3843a428d5a">Court of Appeals</a>&nbsp;to prevent it from taking effect for now.

Last week, the appeals court narrowed Kacsmaryk's ruling so that the initial approval of mifepristone in 2000 is not affected, for now. But it agreed with him that changes the FDA made to relax the rules for prescribing and dispensing the drug should be put on hold. Those rules included expanding when the drug could be taken and allowing for the drug's delivery through the mail.

The appeals court acted by a 2-1 vote. The judges in the majority, Kurt Engelhardt and Andrew Oldham, are both Trump picks.

The Biden administration and the maker of mifepristone, New York-based Danco Laboratories,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pill-appeal-fe13d36218f1fb43590aff29b5ba4e9c">appealed to the Supreme Court</a>, saying that allowing the appeals court's restrictions to take effect would cause chaos. Facing a tight deadline, the Supreme Court gave itself some breathing room and issued an order suggesting it would act by Wednesday evening. That timeline was extended to Friday, the day the justices will hold a previously scheduled private conference.

The justices could talk about the issue further then. The additional time could also be part of an effort to craft an order that has broad support among the nine justices. Or one or more justices might be writing a separate opinion and asked for a couple of extra days.

The Supreme Court’s delay suggests a maddening reality about an institution that ordinarily adheres to a schedule that hasn’t changed much in years: Even experts can be in the dark about when the court will decide things and how.

Cases are argued over seven months from October to April, and the most important decisions typically come right before the justices take a long summer break. The court does not say which cases it plans to hand down on a given day, and the court, in a search for consensus, will sometimes pass on the biggest issues it faces and decide a very small legal point.

But nowhere is the uncertainty as great as a separate category of cases that have come to be known as the shadow docket.

Apart from death row inmates seeking 11th-hour reprieves, shadow docket cases generally involve emergency appeals to the justices before lower courts have reached final decisions. That includes the mifepristone case.

When the justices consider this set of cases, they don’t usually have a deadline to act. A few years back, an order concerning an elections case in Texas came in the wee hours of a Saturday morning for no reason other than that’s when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg finished work on her dissenting opinion.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is leaving women's access to a widely used&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-medication-abortion-works-f913375ec6f8ebcb1f1055e57a3aef63">abortion pill</a>&nbsp;untouched until at least Friday, while the justices consider whether to allow&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pill-appeal-fe13d36218f1fb43590aff29b5ba4e9c">restrictions</a>&nbsp;on the drug mifepristone to take effect.

The court is dealing with a new&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;controversy less than a year after its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.

At stake now is whether to allow restrictions on mifepristone ordered by a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23774813-5th-circuit-abortion-pill-stay-order">lower court</a>&nbsp;to take effect while a legal challenge to the medication's Food and Drug Administration approval continues.

The justices had at first given themselves a Wednesday evening deadline in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-judge-matthew-kacsmaryk-abortion-pill-fda-75964b777ef09593a1ad948c6cfc0237">a fast-moving case from Texas</a>&nbsp;in which abortion opponents are seeking to roll back FDA approval of mifepristone, which is used in the most common method of abortion in the United States.

But on Wednesday afternoon, Justice Samuel Alito issued a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/041923zr1_kjfm.pdf">one-sentence order</a>&nbsp;giving the court more time and indicating it expects to act by Friday night. Alito, the justice in charge of handling emergency appeals from Texas, provided no explanation.

The drug first won FDA approval in 2000, and conditions on its use have been loosened in recent years, including making it available by mail in states that allow access.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-pill-mifepristone-ff152a443d8439e8fa5d9376070822b2">The Biden administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories</a>, the maker of the drug, want the nation’s highest court to reject limits on mifepristone’s use imposed by lower courts, at least as long as the legal case makes it way through the courts. They say women who want the drug and providers who dispense it will face chaos if limits on the drug take effect. Depending on what the justices decide, that could include requiring women to take a higher dosage of the drug than the FDA says is necessary.

Alliance Defending Freedom, representing anti-abortion doctors and medical groups in a challenge to the drug, is defending the rulings in calling on the Supreme Court to restrict access now.

Complicating the situation, a federal judge in Washington has ordered the FDA to preserve access to mifepristone under the current rules in 17 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia that filed a separate lawsuit.

Even as the abortion landscape changed dramatically in several states,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-mifepristone-abortion-drug-3855bb5d5c791e4c0465958bae94519e">abortion opponents</a>&nbsp;set their sights on medication abortions, which make up more than half of all abortions in the United States.

The abortion opponents filed suit in November in Amarillo, Texas. The legal challenge quickly reached the Supreme Court after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pill-lawsuit-mifepristone-misoprostol-kacsmaryk-74cb1c4cfab2c04f6cf2696151bc86ef">a federal judge issued a ruling</a>&nbsp;on April 7 that would revoke FDA approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions.

Less than a week later, a federal appeals court modified the ruling so that mifepristone would remain available while the case continues, but with limits. The appeals court said the drug should only be approved through seven weeks of pregnancy for now, even though the FDA since 2016 has endorsed its use through 10 weeks of pregnancy.

The court also said that the drug can’t be mailed or dispensed as a generic and that patients who seek it need to make three in-person visits with a doctor, among other things.

The generic version of mifepristone makes up two-thirds of the supply in the United States, its manufacturer, Las Vegas-based GenBioPro Inc., wrote in a court filing that underscored the perils of allowing the restrictions to be put into effect.

In the latest legal twist surrounding the case, GenBioPro filed a lawsuit Wednesday to preemptively block the FDA from removing its drug from the market, in the event that the Supreme Court doesn’t intervene.

The FDA approved the company’s generic pill in 2019, based on data and studies showing it is essentially identical to the original version of mifepristone. Both versions have been studied extensively and deemed safe for women.

If the justices aren't inclined to block the ruling from taking effect for now, the Democratic administration and Danco have a fallback argument, asking the court to take up the challenge to mifepristone, hear arguments and decide the case by early summer.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans already has ordered an accelerated schedule for hearing the case, with arguments set for May 17.

Mifepristone has been available for use in medication abortions in the United States since the FDA granted approval in 2000. Since then, more than 5 million women have used it, along with another drug, misoprostol, to induce abortions.

<a href="https://twitter.com/AP/status/1648782842292494336">Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi</a>&nbsp;said in an interview with The Associated Press that for the court to allow restrictions intervening with FDA decisions “would be ludicrous, if it wasn't so serious.”

If the justices take such a step, said Pelosi, D-Calif., "they’ve been too long on Mount Olympus, and it is time for a bright light to be shone."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680967457500.png" alt="About 60% of abortions in Kansas involve the abortion pill. photo Associated Press" />
 <figcaption>About 60% of abortions in Kansas involve the abortion pill. photo Associated Press</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court">Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;initially gave itself a deadline of Wednesday to decide whether women seeking access to a widely used abortion pill would face more restrictions while a court case plays out. But on the day of the highly anticipated decision the justices had only this to say:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-mifepristone-abortion-drug-8457b38f7a4799778e894da1858c8aa2">We need more time</a>.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1681934229833.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/041923zr1_kjfm.pdf">one-sentence order,</a>&nbsp;the court said it now expects to act by Friday evening. There was no explanation of the reason for the delay.The new abortion controversy comes less than a year after the Supreme Court's conservative majority&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturned Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.The following is a look at the drug at issue in the new case, how the case got to the nation's highest court and what the delay might say about what's going on.___WHAT IS MIFEPRISTONE?Mifepristone was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration more than two decades ago. It has been used by more than 5 million women to safely end their pregnancies, and today more than half of women who end a pregnancy rely on the drug, the Justice Department said.Over the years, the FDA has loosened restrictions on the drug’s use, extending from seven to 10 weeks of pregnancy when it can be used, reducing the dosage needed to safely end a pregnancy, eliminating the requirement to visit a doctor in person to get it and allowing pills to be obtained by mail. The FDA also approved a generic version of mifepristone that its manufacturer, Las Vegas-based GenBioPro, says makes up two-thirds of the domestic market.Mifepristone is one of two pills used in medication abortions, along with misoprostol. Health care providers have said they could switch to misoprostol only if mifepristone is no longer available or is too hard to obtain. Misoprostol is somewhat less effective in ending pregnancies.___HOW DID THE CASE GET STARTED?A lawsuit over mifepristone was filed in Amarillo, Texas, late last year. Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group, represents the pill's opponents, who say the FDA's approval of mifepristone was flawed.Why Amarillo?&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-judge-matthew-kacsmaryk-abortion-pill-fda-75964b777ef09593a1ad948c6cfc0237">U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk</a>, who was nominated by then-President Donald Trump, is the sole district court judge there, ensuring that all cases filed in the west Texas city land in front of him. Since taking the bench, he has ruled against President Joe Biden's administration on several other issues, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-joe-biden-new-orleans-mexico-statutes-0a3b7c93a6e6bdf06b0eee4935d7dc8f">immigration</a>&nbsp;and LGBTQ protections.On April 7, Kacsmaryk issued a ruling that would&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pill-lawsuit-mifepristone-misoprostol-kacsmaryk-74cb1c4cfab2c04f6cf2696151bc86ef">revoke the FDA's approval of mifepristone</a>, but he put the decision on hold for a week to allow an appeal.Complicating matters, however, on the same day Kacsmaryk issued his order, a court in Washington state issued a separate ruling in a lawsuit brought by liberal states seeking to preserve access to mifepristone. The Washington judge, Spokane-based Thomas O. Rice, whom then-President Barack Obama nominated, ordered the FDA not to do anything that might affect the availability of mifepristone in the suing states. The Biden administration has said it is impossible to follow both judges' directives at the same time.___HOW DID THE CASE GET TO THE SUPREME COURT?The Biden administration responded to Kacsmaryk's ruling by asking the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pills-4b65ecc66d1b908019bdf3843a428d5a">Court of Appeals</a>&nbsp;to prevent it from taking effect for now.Last week, the appeals court narrowed Kacsmaryk's ruling so that the initial approval of mifepristone in 2000 is not affected, for now. But it agreed with him that changes the FDA made to relax the rules for prescribing and dispensing the drug should be put on hold. Those rules included expanding when the drug could be taken and allowing for the drug's delivery through the mail.The appeals court acted by a 2-1 vote. The judges in the majority, Kurt Engelhardt and Andrew Oldham, are both Trump picks.The Biden administration and the maker of mifepristone, New York-based Danco Laboratories,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pill-appeal-fe13d36218f1fb43590aff29b5ba4e9c">appealed to the Supreme Court</a>, saying that allowing the appeals court's restrictions to take effect would cause chaos. Facing a tight deadline, the Supreme Court gave itself some breathing room and issued an order suggesting it would act by Wednesday evening. That timeline was extended to Friday, the day the justices will hold a previously scheduled private conference.The justices could talk about the issue further then. The additional time could also be part of an effort to craft an order that has broad support among the nine justices. Or one or more justices might be writing a separate opinion and asked for a couple of extra days.___WHAT COULD HAPPEN NEXT?The Supreme Court’s delay suggests a maddening reality about an institution that ordinarily adheres to a schedule that hasn’t changed much in years: Even experts can be in the dark about when the court will decide things and how.Cases are argued over seven months from October to April, and the most important decisions typically come right before the justices take a long summer break. The court does not say which cases it plans to hand down on a given day, and the court, in a search for consensus, will sometimes pass on the biggest issues it faces and decide a very small legal point.But nowhere is the uncertainty as great as a separate category of cases that have come to be known as the shadow docket.Apart from death row inmates seeking 11th-hour reprieves, shadow docket cases generally involve emergency appeals to the justices before lower courts have reached final decisions. That includes the mifepristone case.When the justices consider this set of cases, they don’t usually have a deadline to act. A few years back, an order concerning an elections case in Texas came in the wee hours of a Saturday morning for no reason other than that’s when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg finished work on her dissenting opinion.___WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is leaving women's access to a widely used&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/how-medication-abortion-works-f913375ec6f8ebcb1f1055e57a3aef63">abortion pill</a>&nbsp;untouched until at least Friday, while the justices consider whether to allow&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-abortion-pill-appeal-fe13d36218f1fb43590aff29b5ba4e9c">restrictions</a>&nbsp;on the drug mifepristone to take effect.The court is dealing with a new&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/abortion">abortion</a>&nbsp;controversy less than a year after its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade</a>&nbsp;and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.At stake now is whether to allow restrictions on mifepristone ordered by a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23774813-5th-circuit-abortion-pill-stay-order">lower court</a>&nbsp;to take effect while a legal challenge to the medication's Food and Drug Administration approval continues.The justices had at first given themselves a Wednesday evening deadline in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-judge-matthew-kacsmaryk-abortion-pill-fda-75964b777ef09593a1ad948c6cfc0237">a fast-moving case from Texas</a>&nbsp;in which abortion opponents are seeking to roll back FDA approval of mifepristone, which is used in the most common method of abortion in the United States.But on Wednesday afternoon, Justice Samuel Alito issued a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/041923zr1_kjfm.pdf">one-sentence order</a>&nbsp;giving the court more time and indicating it expects to act by Friday night. Alito, the justice in charge of handling emergency appeals from Texas, provided no explanation.The justices are scheduled to meet for a private conference Friday, where they could talk about the issue. The additional time could be part of an effort to craft an order that has broad support among the justices. Or one or more justices might be writing a separate opinion, and asked for a couple of extra days.The drug first won FDA approval in 2000, and conditions on its use have been loosened in recent years, including making it available by mail in states that allow access.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-pill-mifepristone-ff152a443d8439e8fa5d9376070822b2">The Biden administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories</a>, the maker of the drug, want the nation’s highest court to reject limits on mifepristone’s use imposed by lower courts, at least as long as the legal case makes it way through the courts. They say women who want the drug and providers who dispense it will face chaos if limits on the drug take effect. Depending on what the justices decide, that could include requiring women to take a higher dosage of the drug than the FDA says is necessary.Alliance Defending Freedom, representing anti-abortion doctors and medical groups in a challenge to the drug, is defending the rulings in calling on the Supreme Court to restrict access now.Complicating the situation, a federal judge in Washington has ordered the FDA to preserve access to mifepristone under the current rules in 17 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia that filed a separate lawsuit.The Biden administration has said the rulings conflict and create an untenable situation for the FDA.Even as the abortion landscape changed dramatically in several states,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-mifepristone-abortion-drug-3855bb5d5c791e4c0465958bae94519e">abortion opponents</a>&nbsp;set their sights on medication abortions, which make up more than half of all abortions in the United States.The abortion opponents filed suit in November in Amarillo, Texas. The legal challenge quickly reached the Supreme Court after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pill-lawsuit-mifepristone-misoprostol-kacsmaryk-74cb1c4cfab2c04f6cf2696151bc86ef">a federal judge issued a ruling</a>&nbsp;on April 7 that would revoke FDA approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions.Less than a week later, a federal appeals court modified the ruling so that mifepristone would remain available while the case continues, but with limits. The appeals court said the drug should only be approved through seven weeks of pregnancy for now, even though the FDA since 2016 has endorsed its use through 10 weeks of pregnancy.The court also said that the drug can’t be mailed or dispensed as a generic and that patients who seek it need to make three in-person visits with a doctor, among other things.The generic version of mifepristone makes up two-thirds of the supply in the United States, its manufacturer, Las Vegas-based GenBioPro Inc., wrote in a court filing that underscored the perils of allowing the restrictions to be put into effect.In the latest legal twist surrounding the case, GenBioPro filed a lawsuit Wednesday to preemptively block the FDA from removing its drug from the market, in the event that the Supreme Court doesn’t intervene.The FDA approved the company’s generic pill in 2019, based on data and studies showing it is essentially identical to the original version of mifepristone. Both versions have been studied extensively and deemed safe for women.If the justices aren't inclined to block the ruling from taking effect for now, the Democratic administration and Danco have a fallback argument, asking the court to take up the challenge to mifepristone, hear arguments and decide the case by early summer.The court only rarely takes such a step before at least one appeals court has thoroughly examined the legal issues involved.The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans already has ordered an accelerated schedule for hearing the case, with arguments set for May 17.Mifepristone has been available for use in medication abortions in the United States since the FDA granted approval in 2000. Since then, more than 5 million women have used it, along with another drug, misoprostol, to induce abortions.<a href="https://twitter.com/AP/status/1648782842292494336">Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi</a>&nbsp;said in an interview with The Associated Press that for the court to allow restrictions intervening with FDA decisions “would be ludicrous, if it wasn't so serious.”If the justices take such a step, said Pelosi, D-Calif., "they’ve been too long on Mount Olympus, and it is time for a bright light to be shone."

Countdown on for Supreme Court decision on abortion pill

GRAND ISLAND — Troopers have arrested a Hastings man after he fled a traffic stop Wednesday evening near Grand Island.

At approximately 7 p.m. Wednesday, a trooper observed a Chevrolet Silverado speeding on Highway 34, just north of the Interstate 80 Interchange in Grand Island. During the traffic stop, a passenger of the vehicle fled on foot, jumping over a fence and running toward the Platte River.

Additional troopers traveled to the scene. After approximately 90 minutes, a trooper saw the subject crawling across the south channel of the Platte River. He was then taken into custody without further incident.

Troopers discovered that the passenger had provided false identification via a debit card during the initial traffic stop encounter. The subject, Miguel Lopez, 30, was arrested for criminal impersonation, obstructing a police officer, and criminal possession a financial transaction device. He was lodged in Hall County Jail.

The NSP K9 Division and drone operators assisted in this search.

NSPGRAND ISLAND — Troopers have arrested a Hastings man after he fled a traffic stop Wednesday evening near Grand Island.At approximately 7 p.m. Wednesday, a trooper observed a Chevrolet Silverado speeding on Highway 34, just north of the Interstate 80 Interchange in Grand Island. During the traffic stop, a passenger of the vehicle fled on foot, jumping over a fence and running toward the Platte River.Additional troopers traveled to the scene. After approximately 90 minutes, a trooper saw the subject crawling across the south channel of the Platte River. He was then taken into custody without further incident.Troopers discovered that the passenger had provided false identification via a debit card during the initial traffic stop encounter. The subject, Miguel Lopez, 30, was arrested for criminal impersonation, obstructing a police officer, and criminal possession a financial transaction device. He was lodged in Hall County Jail.The NSP K9 Division and drone operators assisted in this search.

Search leads to arrest after Grand Island traffic stop

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led House passed a bill Thursday that would bar federally supported schools and colleges from allowing transgender athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth was male to compete on girls or women's sports teams.

The legislation approved by a 219-203 vote is unlikely to advance further because the Democratic-led Senate will not support it and the White House said President Joe Biden would veto it.

Supporters said the legislation, which would put violators at risk of losing taxpayer dollars, is necessary to ensure competitive fairness. They framed the vote as supporting female athletes disadvantaged by having to compete against those whose gender identify does not match their sex assigned at birth. Opponents criticized the bill as ostracizing an already vulnerable group for political gain.

The House action comes as at least&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-sports-ban-north-carolina-e09882f3f3e2ace72de2004d2f438a7e">20 other states</a>&nbsp;have imposed similar limits on trans athletes at the K-12 or collegiate level.

The bill would amend landmark civil rights legislation passed more than 50 years ago. The amendment would prohibit recipients of federal money from permitting a person “whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.” The bill defines sex as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

The sponsor, Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., highlighted the case of Emma Weyant, a resident of his district and a 2020 member of the U.S. Olympic swimming team who finished second in the NCAA women’s 500-yeard freestyle championship last year. She was defeated by Lia Thomas, who had competed for three years on the University of Pennsylvania men’s swimming team before joining the women’s team.

“The integrity of women’s sports must be protected,” Steube said.

Rep. Aaron Bean, R- Fla, said that every time a male takes a lane in the pool or at the starting line, a female athlete loses the opportunity to compete.

“We are in a battle for the very survival of women’s sports,” Bean said.

Democrats said every child regardless of gender identify deserves the opportunity to belong to a team and that preventing competitors from doing so sends the message that they don’t matter.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who has a transgender daughter, said Republicans were cruelly scapegoating transgender children to score political points. She said three-quarters of transgender students report having experienced harassment or discrimination at school and many have considered suicide.

“These bills tell some of the most vulnerable children in our country that they do not belong," Jayapal said. "Shame on you.”

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., said most people in the United States don’t know anyone who is transgender and that can create fear for politicians to exploit. The bill, he said, does nothing to address the severe inequities in the resources dedicated to men’s and women’s sports.

He highlighted the stance taken by Gov. Spencer Cox, R-Utah, who last year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-health-legislature-mental-health-utah-f0e76dad68c1dd9986cee0be1b057cef">vetoed</a>&nbsp;a bill banning transgender students from playing girls sports. Cox said: “I struggle to understand so much of it and the science is conflicting. When in doubt however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy and compassion."

Pocan noted that in Utah at the time of the veto there were four transgender players out of 85,000 competing in high school sports, with only one competing in girls sports.

“There’s your raging national problem,” Pocan said. “What’s the Republicans response to this nonexistent issue? Hurt kids for being kids.”

In a message this week threatening a veto, the White House said that being part of a team is an important part of growing up, staying engaged in school and learning leadership and life skills. It said a national ban that does not account for competitiveness or grade level targets people for who they are and is discriminatory.

The administration also has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trans-athletes-sports-ban-2f6cf412d306e73e68efa2377fb5081a">issued a proposed rule</a>&nbsp;that would prevent any school or college that receives federal money from imposing a “one-size-fits-all” policy that categorically bans trans students from playing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. Such policies would be considered a violation of Title IX.

Any limits would have to consider the sport, the level of competition and the age of students. Elementary school students would generally be allowed to participate on any teams consistent with their gender identity, for example. More competitive teams at high schools and colleges could add limits, but those would be discouraged in teams that don’t have tryouts or cuts.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1682003635674.png" alt="House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. speaks ahead of the vote -photo courtesy House GOP" />
 <figcaption>House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. speaks ahead of the vote -photo courtesy House GOP</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led House passed a bill Thursday that would bar federally supported schools and colleges from allowing transgender athletes whose biological sex assigned at birth was male to compete on girls or women's sports teams.The legislation approved by a 219-203 vote is unlikely to advance further because the Democratic-led Senate will not support it and the White House said President Joe Biden would veto it.Supporters said the legislation, which would put violators at risk of losing taxpayer dollars, is necessary to ensure competitive fairness. They framed the vote as supporting female athletes disadvantaged by having to compete against those whose gender identify does not match their sex assigned at birth. Opponents criticized the bill as ostracizing an already vulnerable group for political gain.The House action comes as at least&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-sports-ban-north-carolina-e09882f3f3e2ace72de2004d2f438a7e">20 other states</a>&nbsp;have imposed similar limits on trans athletes at the K-12 or collegiate level.The bill would amend landmark civil rights legislation passed more than 50 years ago. The amendment would prohibit recipients of federal money from permitting a person “whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.” The bill defines sex as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”The sponsor, Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., highlighted the case of Emma Weyant, a resident of his district and a 2020 member of the U.S. Olympic swimming team who finished second in the NCAA women’s 500-yeard freestyle championship last year. She was defeated by Lia Thomas, who had competed for three years on the University of Pennsylvania men’s swimming team before joining the women’s team.“The integrity of women’s sports must be protected,” Steube said.Rep. Aaron Bean, R- Fla, said that every time a male takes a lane in the pool or at the starting line, a female athlete loses the opportunity to compete.“We are in a battle for the very survival of women’s sports,” Bean said.Democrats said every child regardless of gender identify deserves the opportunity to belong to a team and that preventing competitors from doing so sends the message that they don’t matter.Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who has a transgender daughter, said Republicans were cruelly scapegoating transgender children to score political points. She said three-quarters of transgender students report having experienced harassment or discrimination at school and many have considered suicide.“These bills tell some of the most vulnerable children in our country that they do not belong," Jayapal said. "Shame on you.”Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., said most people in the United States don’t know anyone who is transgender and that can create fear for politicians to exploit. The bill, he said, does nothing to address the severe inequities in the resources dedicated to men’s and women’s sports.He highlighted the stance taken by Gov. Spencer Cox, R-Utah, who last year&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-health-legislature-mental-health-utah-f0e76dad68c1dd9986cee0be1b057cef">vetoed</a>&nbsp;a bill banning transgender students from playing girls sports. Cox said: “I struggle to understand so much of it and the science is conflicting. When in doubt however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy and compassion."Pocan noted that in Utah at the time of the veto there were four transgender players out of 85,000 competing in high school sports, with only one competing in girls sports.“There’s your raging national problem,” Pocan said. “What’s the Republicans response to this nonexistent issue? Hurt kids for being kids.”In a message this week threatening a veto, the White House said that being part of a team is an important part of growing up, staying engaged in school and learning leadership and life skills. It said a national ban that does not account for competitiveness or grade level targets people for who they are and is discriminatory.The administration also has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trans-athletes-sports-ban-2f6cf412d306e73e68efa2377fb5081a">issued a proposed rule</a>&nbsp;that would prevent any school or college that receives federal money from imposing a “one-size-fits-all” policy that categorically bans trans students from playing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. Such policies would be considered a violation of Title IX.Any limits would have to consider the sport, the level of competition and the age of students. Elementary school students would generally be allowed to participate on any teams consistent with their gender identity, for example. More competitive teams at high schools and colleges could add limits, but those would be discouraged in teams that don’t have tryouts or cuts.

House passes trans athlete ban for girls and women's sports

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX’s giant new rocket blasted off on its first test flight Thursday but exploded minutes after rising from the launch pad and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.

Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship rocket on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. It carried no people or satellites.

The plan called for the booster to peel away from the spacecraft minutes after liftoff, but that didn't happen. The rocket began to tumble and then exploded four minutes into the flight, plummeting into the gulf. After separating, the spacecraft was supposed to continue east and attempt to circle the world, before crashing into the Pacific near Hawaii.

Throngs of spectators watched from South Padre Island, several miles away from the Boca Chica Beach launch site, which was off limits. As it lifted off, the crowd screamed: “Go, baby, go!”

The company plans to use&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/spacex-musk-starship-launch-test-flight-11de145e989e0534b6399640bc437b8e">Starship</a>&nbsp;to send people and cargo to the moon and, eventually, Mars. NASA has reserved a Starship for its next moonwalking team, and rich tourists are already booking lunar flybys.

It was the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/starship-space-launch-rocket-spacex-musk-c22f4b7dc476c6ca2d44522a2f9b68a5">second launch attempt</a>. Monday’s try was scrapped by a frozen booster valve.

At 394 feet and nearly 17 million pounds of thrust, Starship easily surpasses NASA’s moon rockets — past, present and future. The stainless steel rocket is designed to be fully reusable with fast turnaround, dramatically lowering costs, similar to what SpaceX’s smaller Falcon rockets have done soaring from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Nothing was to be saved from the test flight.

The futuristic spacecraft flew several miles into the air during testing a few years ago, landing successfully only once. But this was to be the inaugural launch of the first-stage booster with 33 methane-fueled engines.

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX’s new rocket, the biggest and most powerful ever built, blasted off Thursday on its first test flight, thundering into the South Texas sky in an attempt to orbit the world.

Elon Musk’s company launched the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship rocket from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. The plan called for the booster to peel away and plummet into the Gulf of Mexico shortly after liftoff, with the spacecraft hurtling ever higher toward the east in a bid to circle the world, before crashing into the Pacific near Hawaii.

No people or satellites were aboard for this debut launch.

Throngs of spectators watched from several miles away from the Boca Chica Beach launch site, which was off-limits.

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX’s giant new rocket blasted off on its first test flight Thursday but exploded minutes after rising from the launch pad and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Liftoff of Starship! <a href="https://t.co/4t8mRP37Gp">pic.twitter.com/4t8mRP37Gp</a>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1649043715686793218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship rocket on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. It carried no people or satellites.The plan called for the booster to peel away from the spacecraft minutes after liftoff, but that didn't happen. The rocket began to tumble and then exploded four minutes into the flight, plummeting into the gulf. After separating, the spacecraft was supposed to continue east and attempt to circle the world, before crashing into the Pacific near Hawaii.Throngs of spectators watched from South Padre Island, several miles away from the Boca Chica Beach launch site, which was off limits. As it lifted off, the crowd screamed: “Go, baby, go!”The company plans to use&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/spacex-musk-starship-launch-test-flight-11de145e989e0534b6399640bc437b8e">Starship</a>&nbsp;to send people and cargo to the moon and, eventually, Mars. NASA has reserved a Starship for its next moonwalking team, and rich tourists are already booking lunar flybys.It was the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/starship-space-launch-rocket-spacex-musk-c22f4b7dc476c6ca2d44522a2f9b68a5">second launch attempt</a>. Monday’s try was scrapped by a frozen booster valve.At 394 feet and nearly 17 million pounds of thrust, Starship easily surpasses NASA’s moon rockets — past, present and future. The stainless steel rocket is designed to be fully reusable with fast turnaround, dramatically lowering costs, similar to what SpaceX’s smaller Falcon rockets have done soaring from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Nothing was to be saved from the test flight.The futuristic spacecraft flew several miles into the air during testing a few years ago, landing successfully only once. But this was to be the inaugural launch of the first-stage booster with 33 methane-fueled engines.--------------SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX’s new rocket, the biggest and most powerful ever built, blasted off Thursday on its first test flight, thundering into the South Texas sky in an attempt to orbit the world.Elon Musk’s company launched the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) Starship rocket from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. The plan called for the booster to peel away and plummet into the Gulf of Mexico shortly after liftoff, with the spacecraft hurtling ever higher toward the east in a bid to circle the world, before crashing into the Pacific near Hawaii.No people or satellites were aboard for this debut launch.Throngs of spectators watched from several miles away from the Boca Chica Beach launch site, which was off-limits.The company plans to use&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/spacex-musk-starship-launch-test-flight-11de145e989e0534b6399640bc437b8e">Starship</a>&nbsp;to send people and cargo to the moon and, eventually, Mars. NASA has reserved a Starship for its next moonwalking team, and rich tourists are already booking lunar flybys.It was the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/starship-space-launch-rocket-spacex-musk-c22f4b7dc476c6ca2d44522a2f9b68a5">second launch attempt</a>. Monday’s try was scrapped by a frozen booster valve.

SpaceX giant rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas

United
 States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Michael Dale Bouwens, 69,
 of Lincoln was sentenced on April 18 in Lincoln by 
Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard for receipt
 of child pornography.&nbsp; 

Bouwens was sentenced to 84 months in prison and
 will also serve 10 years on supervised release. There is no parole in 
the federal system.&nbsp; After serving his prison sentence, Bouwens will 
also be required to register as a sex offender.

In May of 2021, law enforcement reviewed a 
cybertip regarding suspected child pornography. The IP address on the 
cybertip was traced to a residence in Lincoln belonging to Bouwens.


A search warrant was executed on Bouwens’s 
residence and he was interviewed by law enforcement. He admitted that he
 had an interest in child pornography and used his laptop to search for 
child pornography
 online. He said he had last downloaded child pornography a couple days 
prior to the interview.&nbsp; A forensic review of several of the devices 
seized from Bouwens’s home contained approximately 19,666 files that 
qualify as child pornography and 262 videos of
 child pornography.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe
 Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of 
child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the 
Department of Justice.
 Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood 
marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend 
and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well
 as to identify and rescue victims. For more information
 about Project Safe Childhood, please visit <a href="http://www.justice.gov/psc" target="_blank">www.justice.gov/psc</a>.


This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

U.S. Attorney's OfficeUnited
 States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Michael Dale Bouwens, 69,
 of Lincoln was sentenced on April 18 in Lincoln by 
Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard for receipt
 of child pornography.&nbsp; Bouwens was sentenced to 84 months in prison and
 will also serve 10 years on supervised release. There is no parole in 
the federal system.&nbsp; After serving his prison sentence, Bouwens will 
also be required to register as a sex offender.In May of 2021, law enforcement reviewed a 
cybertip regarding suspected child pornography. The IP address on the 
cybertip was traced to a residence in Lincoln belonging to Bouwens.
A search warrant was executed on Bouwens’s 
residence and he was interviewed by law enforcement. He admitted that he
 had an interest in child pornography and used his laptop to search for 
child pornography
 online. He said he had last downloaded child pornography a couple days 
prior to the interview.&nbsp; A forensic review of several of the devices 
seized from Bouwens’s home contained approximately 19,666 files that 
qualify as child pornography and 262 videos of
 child pornography.This case was brought as part of Project Safe
 Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of 
child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the 
Department of Justice.
 Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood 
marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend 
and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well
 as to identify and rescue victims. For more information
 about Project Safe Childhood, please visit <a href="http://www.justice.gov/psc" target="_blank">www.justice.gov/psc</a>.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Child porn charges earn Neb. man seven years in lockup

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — American-made Patriot missiles have arrived in Ukraine, the country's defense minister said Wednesday, providing Kyiv with a long-sought new shield against the Russian airstrikes that have devastated cities and civilian infrastructure.

The U.S. agreed in October to send the surface-to-air systems, which can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles such as those that Russia has used to bombard residential areas and the Ukrainian power grid.

“Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure,” Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet.

The missiles are the latest contribution from Western allies, who have also pledged tanks, artillery and some types of fighter jets as Ukraine gears up for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-counteroffensive-russia-war-oleksiy-danilov-interview-6e8e4fec0916bf10a9bcd642374103f9">an expected counteroffensive</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1673396092973.png" alt="Ukrainian troops trained at Oklahoma’s Fort Sill Army base operating and maintaining the Patriot missile defense system-Photo U.S. Defense Department" />
 <figcaption>Ukrainian troops trained at Oklahoma’s Fort Sill Army base operating and maintaining the Patriot missile defense system-Photo U.S. Defense Department</figcaption>
 </figure>KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — American-made Patriot missiles have arrived in Ukraine, the country's defense minister said Wednesday, providing Kyiv with a long-sought new shield against the Russian airstrikes that have devastated cities and civilian infrastructure.The U.S. agreed in October to send the surface-to-air systems, which can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles such as those that Russia has used to bombard residential areas and the Ukrainian power grid.“Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure,” Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet.The missiles are the latest contribution from Western allies, who have also pledged tanks, artillery and some types of fighter jets as Ukraine gears up for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-counteroffensive-russia-war-oleksiy-danilov-interview-6e8e4fec0916bf10a9bcd642374103f9">an expected counteroffensive</a>.Reznikov thanked the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, without saying how many missile systems had been delivered or when they arrived.Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said late Tuesday that delivery of the systems would be a landmark event, allowing Ukrainians to knock out Russian targets at a greater distance.Germany’s federal government website on Tuesday listed a Patriot system as among the military items delivered within the past week to Ukraine. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed that to lawmakers Wednesday in Berlin.Germany has also delivered the second of four medium-range IRIS-T air defense systems that it pledged last year, Baerbock said.Reznikov said he first asked for Patriot systems when visiting the U.S. in August 2021, five months before Russia's full-scale invasion and seven years after Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. He described possessing the system as “a dream” but said he was told in the U.S. at the time that it was “impossible.”Ukrainian personnel have been trained on the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-patriot-missile-system-explainer-b16125509161de8a7a3b4c38022534c7">Patriot battery</a>, which requires up to 90 troops to operate and maintain it.“Our air defenders have mastered (the Patriot systems) as far as they could. And our partners have kept their word,” Reznikov wrote.Experts have cautioned that the system’s effectiveness is limited and that it may not significantly change the shape of the war, even though it will add to Ukraine’s arsenal against its bigger enemy.The Patriot was first deployed by the U.S. in the 1980s. The system costs approximately $4 million per missile, and the launchers cost about $10 million each, analysts say. At such a cost, it’s not advantageous to use the Patriot to shoot down the smaller, cheaper Iranian drones that Russia has been buying and using in Ukraine.In other developments Wednesday, China denied recent reports that Chinese drones have been found on Ukraine battlefields. China has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-taiwan-weapons-germany-ukraine-2a51d2c64c12fca75683d20fbafba475">insisted that it will not help arm Russia</a>, one of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-china-defense-minister-putin-xi-military-cooperation-018129169d50f64df3a06793f89776c5">its key allies</a>.The Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement that Beijing maintains strict control over the export of drones in keeping with international standards preventing them from being used for nonpeaceful purposes.China, which has repeatedly criticized the U.S. and other countries’ support for Ukraine as “adding fuel to the fire” of the war, has an “objective and fair stance” and seeks peace, the statement said.Elsewhere, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that he&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-war-putin-285966d09f3b0659e29c3292ff957d3d">recently visited</a>&nbsp;Moscow-controlled parts of Ukraine’s southern Kherson and easternmost Luhansk provinces.“The purpose of the trip was to meet with the military, whom I did not want to distract for a long time and a long distance from the deployment of the units they command,” he said.Kyiv officials have reported daily civilian, but not military, casualties from Russian bombardment.At least four civilians were killed and 27 others were wounded Tuesday and overnight, Ukraine’s defense ministry reported.A 50-year-old man and 44-year-old woman were killed in a Russian airstrike on a border town in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said in televised remarks.Russian forces launched 12 rocket, artillery, mortar, tank and drone attacks on Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, killing one civilian at a market in the center of Kherson, the region’s namesake capital, and a nearby school, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.A woman was killed and another was wounded in northern Ukraine after Russian forces shelled the border village of Richki from multiple rocket launchers, the local military administration said.Russian forces also fired exploding drones at Ukraine’s southern Odesa region.___ Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, Christopher Bodeen in Beijing, and Geir Moulson in Berlin, contributed to this report.